Her shoulders lowered in relief. Had she thought Hubric was dead?
They didn’t believe me that Kyrowat’s fever was from being shot. They feared I was hiding his rider’s death.
“I’m Ashana Willowspring,” the woman said. She was young-looking, though the fine lines around her eyes and mouth and the tiny silver threads in her hair told a different story. “Top Rider of the Purples. Where is your master, Sworn?”
“I’ll take you to him,” I said, keeping my voice calm. She wasn’t giving anything away. Not fear or worry or happiness at Hubric’s being alive. Without being able to tell what she was thinking it was hard to know how to react.
She’s guarded. They’ve been through a lot. Seen too much. They fled to this place just like the villagers.
If they were all fleeing here, the war could not be too far behind them.
We will be able to defend this place.
But for how long?
Long enough.
I hoped he was right as I led the Top Rider to Hubric’s bedside, but her calm, cool presence only made me more anxious. If a capable woman like this could be shaken by the coming war, it must be even worse than I imagined.
Chapter Seventeen
“The wound is clean, but infection set in before it was stitched. You’re the one who stitched him, not the blind girl?” Ashana Willowspring asked as she examined Hubric. Two of the other Purples had followed us into the room to the terrified horror of the villager tending the fire outside in the Great Hall.
“Savette is not blind,” I said, leaning over her to watch what she was doing. Was she suggesting that my stitching was so bad that it looked like someone blind had done it? “She is the Chosen One.”
“Ridiculous. Say something like that again and I’ll see you are never raised to our color. You can be Sworn for the rest of your life.”
Like I cared about that. I shuffled nervously. What was she doing to Hubric’s wound? She unwrapped his bandages and hissed at the angry red skin beneath.
“Danver,” Ashana Willowspring gestured to one of the other Purples. He was slight and blond, with a small short beard. “Go check the storeroom for healing herbs. There must be something to cleanse a wound. You did well to pull the arrow out and stitch him.” She glanced up at me. “But you did a lot of damage digging it out. I can see the marks. And you didn’t clean it well enough. You’re going to have to work on your ability to field dress wounds. This is completely unacceptable. How long have you been with Dragon School?”
“About a month.” My relief that there was someone here who could help Hubric took the sting out of her obvious disdain for me.
She cursed. “Last wave before Dantriet disbanded the school and sent you all off in different directions?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Get the kettle boiling. We have a lot to tend to here. Aliss.” She turned to the other Purple – a willow-thin woman with red scars on her face and hands. “Survey our situation here and set up a watch with Rawlins, then report.”
Aliss nodded and left as I scrambled to fill a kettle and place it back on the pot hook. The fire had burnt down and needed to be revived, so I set about it as Ashana continued to sort us out. Savette rose and carefully made her bed as we spoke. She had the air of someone who was being very quiet to avoid notice.
“Come here, girl,” Ashana said to her. “Show me your eyes.” Savette hesitated, so Ashana made an impatient noise and pulled Savette’s scarf down herself. “Don’t be shy.”
Light flooded the room and Ashana took a step backward. Could I help the smug feeling at seeing her surprised look? It was hard enough not to laugh out loud. Savette sniffed loudly and pulled the scarf back up.
“I have work to do,” she said and walked right past where Ashana stood frozen beside Hubric’s bed. Her eyes were narrowed as if she were thinking very hard.
She looked to me. “Chosen One? Who said that first? Her or you?”
“Hubric did,” I said, firmly. It was time for Ashana Willowspring to take us seriously. We weren’t a couple of kids playing a game.
She nodded thoughtfully as Danver returned with herbs. “Thank you, Danver. These will do. Get some rest. We’ll take turns.”
He nodded and strode out of the room. Wherever he was resting it wouldn’t be here.
Probably with us. Their dragons are twitchy and unsettled. Their journey was perilous. Rasipaer only needs rest, but Daieseo, Iasafae, and Drarjes are in shock. They need time.
What kind of horror could put a dragon in shock?
As much as it pains me to admit it, we are not the Almighty.
“Stop daydreaming girl, and bring that hot water here.” Was Ashana always like this, or only after a trauma?
I scrambled up, crutch at my side and hobbled the kettle over to where she’d arranged the herbs in a small basin.
“We’ll make a poultice with these herbs and hope there is time to draw the infection out of him. Now, tell me why Hubric thinks this girl is the Chosen One. Who is she?”
“She is Savette Leedris, a Red initiate. That’s her dragon outside with Raolcan and Kyrowat. Hubric and I have seen her fulfill some of the Ibrenicus Prophecies.”
“Hubric is a Lightbringer,” Ashana said.
“You aren’t?”
“Not all of us can give our lives to faith.”
I felt the same way a few weeks ago. But did I feel like that now? A time was coming when we were going to need Savette and without the Lightbringers, she would be dead already. Without faith, we wouldn’t have known to look for her. Without truth, people might choose to follow Starie instead and that would be a disaster. I was starting to think that these prophecies were the key to all of us surviving what was coming.
“I’m not sure that I agree.”
“Well, then you’re definitely Hubric’s apprentice. Tell me about how he was injured and where you were last.”
“I don’t know how he was injured. We flew out of Dominion City three or four days ago with messages for the Dominar and those with him-”
“Three or four?”
“A lot has happened, and I was knocked on the head. It’s hard to be specific.”
She waved impatiently for me to continue.
“We were attacked by Ifrits along the Great Drake River, but in the aftermath, a man we saved stole Hubric’s messages. We went after him - he took a boat heading to the ocean - and found Cynos Vineplanter along the way with twenty Reds. They agreed to help us recover the messages and help save a group of Purples we had heard were being held captive at the Feet of the River. Before we rescued the captives, Cynos sent Hubric with a message to the Dominar that Casaban had fallen and that we were invaded by Baojang and the Rock Eaters. Hubric left reluctantly and we attacked.”
“He left without you?”
“Cynos was insistent that he would need every dragon available.”
She nodded. “Continue.”
“Cynos and his men perished along with the Purples we came to rescue, except for Leng Shardson. A group of free dragons helped us, and they have gone with Leng to deliver our captives to a nearby city while Savette and I came northwest with the messages.”
Ashana Willowspring’s eyebrows had risen steadily upward as I spoke and she cleared her throat, cutting me off when Aliss entered the room.
“There are supplies enough to keep the refugees already here for a month or more, but there is only one entrance,” she said. “It could be held against a great force – even with as small a defense as what we have now – but not indefinitely. I’d say we could hold it for maybe a week. It’s not a long-term solution.”
Ashana nodded. “We need at least a day to rest the dragons. It will take longer than that if we try to save these refugees.” What other option was there? Would she leave them to die? I felt sick at the thought. “The wave was at least a day behind us. We should have that long to rest.”
It sounded like she was talking herself into something.
“It grows faster,” Aliss objected. “We don’t really know if we have a full day. Look how quickly it took Saldrin.”
“Saldrin?” I asked. I had a sudden image in my mind of waving goodbye to Leng.
“Our enemies are like a black wave flowing over the land,” Aliss said. Her expression was strained. “It washed over Saldrin two days ago and over Leedris City yesterday. It is on its way here.”
I felt like someone had knocked the breath out of me.
“Why does Saldrin matter so much to you?” Ashana asked.
“Leng and the free dragons who helped us are taking the prisoners we captured to Saldrin.”
Her expression became as grim as mine did. “Help me dress Hubric’s wounds with that poultice, girl. It will be ready now. Don’t go yet, Aliss. There will be time to rest, but before then, we’ll induct this girl into the Purple. She’s earned it, and if we get out of this alive we’ll need her.”
They were going to raise me to a Color? I was so surprised that I stopped stirring the herbs for a moment.
“Surprised?” Ashana asked me with a smirk. “When you’re Top Rider you need to remember the long-term as well as the short-term. Your value to us is as important long-term as organizing our defenses here is for the short-term. So, stop gawking and put that poultice on your mentor’s back so we can go to the anteroom together.”
Chapter Eighteen
“What made you change your mind about me?” I asked Ashana as she helped me wrap the bandage around Hubric’s poultice.
“Your account of events matches your dragon’s and Rasipaer keeps telling me that your dragon is important. Raolcan the prince of something or another. Why the dragons sent us a prince is beyond me, but I can see a resource when it’s flung in front of my face. We’ll induct you to the Color, rest up and when we leave, you’ll come with us.”
“And the refugees?” I asked. We left Hubric’s room together, Aliss leading the way and Ashana right at her heels. Savette looked up at me as we entered the Great Hall. She was serving some sort of food to a group of children. My heart twisted at the sight. I couldn’t leave them here unprotected.
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Ashana said, but I wasn’t convinced. She clearly felt pity for them, but not the responsibility to keep them safe. How could someone be dedicated to truth and not see how we owed these little ones our protection?
Not everyone is you, Amel Leafbrought. Ashana Willowspring is a great and efficient leader, but she does not see as clearly as you do.
I felt my face heating. Raolcan shouldn’t flatter me like that.
It’s not flattery if it’s true. I’m always telling you that.
We entered the anteroom. Raolcan nestled against Kyrowat who was fast asleep.
He’s doing better, but he needs rest.
On the other side of the room, three of the visiting dragons curled together.
They’re friends – used to being together. Eeamdor and Drarjes are outside keeping watch.
Was Eeamdor up to that?
Reds don’t sit still if there’s the smell of battle in the air – like there is right now.
At least Raolcan would be here for whatever they were going to do to raise me to their Color.
As if she had read my mind, Ashana spoke. “Usually there’s a lot of pomp and formality to this. At least a dozen purples will stand and give testimony to who you are and why they think you’re ready to be raised to a Color. Usually, there would be three days of trials and tests. We don’t have time for any of that. Or for feasting or celebration. We’ll do this quick and dirty because we need every competent recruit we can muster. If Hubric can get you this far in a few weeks, perhaps he can make a full Dragon Rider out of you by the end of the year and take on a new apprentice. We will need that. If we live to see the year out. So, all we’ll do today is the last test – and only the most important part. To do that, three of our purple dragons will listen to your mind. This is a great sacrifice for them – both because they are tired right now and because Purples are reluctant to enter minds other than those they choose. It’s more personal than they like and puts obligations on them that they do not appreciate. Do you understand?”
I turned to the dragons, who were regarding me with what felt like resentful yellow stares. “Thank you for this great honor.”
One of them coughed, staining the wall black. I knew dragons well enough by now to know that was no accident. If he thought that would worry me, he hadn’t been through what I had over the last few days.
“Traditionally, you fall backward off the cliffs of Dragon School and let your dragon catch you while other Purples listen to your mind. They will determine if you are fit to serve your color.”
“There aren’t any nearby cliffs here.” I had butterflies in my belly at the idea of falling backward off a cliff, but I could trust Raolcan. I’d done things a lot more dangerous with him since we met.
I’m not allowed to talk to you about the ceremony or speak to you about it until afterward.
Typical. If only Hubric were here to watch. He would want to see this.
I can ask that Kyrowat be one of the ones who helps with your testing.
I’d like that.
“We’ll use that pillar. Can you climb it without both legs?”
I remembered the stone ladder carved into the side of the pillar. Yes, I could climb that. I nodded.
“Then you climb it now – leave your winter cloak here, it’s too bulky – and then you stand, facing out over the horizon and answer any questions the dragons have. When they are done, you fall backward and let your dragon catch you. You must be silent through the whole ritual. Simple enough?”
That was it? It almost sounded too simple.
Ashana’s smile was predatory. “I’ve seen that look on a Sworn face a few times. Trust me when I tell you – simple is not the same as easy. Get going.”
I gave her my cloak, took a deep breath, and left the anteroom through the crack in the stone wall. It was about time that I was considered a proper Purple, war or no war. It would get me that much closer to a free life with Raolcan. Who wouldn’t want that?
Chapter Nineteen
Outside the anteroom, the wind had died down since yesterday, but green leaves were littered across the forest floor – evidence of the wind that had ripped through the trees. Rawlins nodded to me as I passed him. His eyes scanned the horizon constantly from his perch on the nearby rocks. I looked around me at the towering mountains on either side and the forest floor running down from where I was and spreading out into the valley below. From here, I could see the sea below and a black blip rising into the sky north of here. Leedris City? I’d ask Raolcan, but I knew he was supposed to be silent right now. Eeamdor sat on a peak up the side of one of the mountains, his red form obvious against the rock. I was glad he was watching out for us.
It was only a few steps from the door to the pillar and I took deep breaths to keep calm as I crossed them. I placed my crutch at the base of the pillar, gripped the ladder with determination, and began to climb. Ladders were almost as common as dragons in my new life as a student of Dragon School. So was falling from heights. I climbed carefully, but quickly. After all, Hubric needed me to return and care for him and the dragons needed to get their rest.
When I reached the top, I pulled myself into an awkward sitting position on the pillar. There was room all around me – enough that I could stand without any real worry of falling off, but not much more than that.
Stand and spread your arms out on either side.
That wasn’t a dragon voice I recognized.
I am Rasipaer. Are you worthy to ride a dragon of the Purple?
I thought I was. Well, not worthy exactly, but I really wanted to keep doing it. Raolcan wanted me to be his rider, too. Didn’t that count for something?
Brace yourself.
The torrent of thoughts that ripped through me left me gasping. I hadn’t caught any of them, but I felt like I’d be
en pulled through a sieve, weighed and measured. Any secrets I’d had before were his now. Any sense of who I was had been inspected minutely. I felt very small.
I looked across the horizon before me. That didn’t help. The vastness of the Dominion was more than I’d ever expected. Inside its borders, I was nothing but a small human who’d been given the chance to ride a dragon. There was nothing particularly spectacular about me. I let my eyes rove across the landscape beyond. What would happen to me if I failed this test?
Fail and you become a servant. Usually.
That was Kyrowat. I recognized his mental voice. He didn’t like talking to humans.
Who does?
What was I seeing coming from Leedris City? Was that a pillar of smoke rising into the sky? And what was the dark shadow that crept across the ground toward us?
All of us have something at our core, Rasipaer’s voice said in my mind as I tried to concentrate on the shadow. “We are ambition or mercy or understanding or something else. What are you?
What did it matter what I was when that shadow was creeping forward? Fear gripped my heart. Was that the “wave” that Ashana and Aliss had seen on its way?
What are you? he repeated.
What was I? When it came right down to it, I was a friend. A friend to Raolcan and to Savette and to Hubric and to whoever else needed me. Now, could we focus on something more urgent? Like what that shadow was and why it was creeping forward. How close was the edge?
I followed it over the landscape with my gaze, looking for the forward edge. It was hard to distinguish the exact point along the land that the shadow melded into the normal landscape. Close to us – probably closer than that shadow, I noticed something gleaming in the woods. I squinted my eyes. It was close to the treeline. Close to where I stood on the pillar. What was that? I kept losing track through the canopy of trees. Wait. It was more than one thing...
Are you dedicated to truth above your own comfort and ambitions?
Dragon School: Prince of Dragons Page 6